


blindsided

by silver_wings



Category: Holby City
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-03 08:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8704390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_wings/pseuds/silver_wings
Summary: Elinor and Charlotte learn of relationship between their Mums.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea that just wouldn't leave me, hope you enjoy.

When they first met they felt like they had nothing in common. They were studying different courses and their personalities seemed poles apart. But, they had so many friends in common that the two women found themselves constantly together. When they each got over themselves they discovered they had similar tastes in movies, books, music. Though where they found their biggest commonality was in their workaholic, and what they sometimes felt, distant parents. Since this discovery they were firm friends.

Charlotte had gone over at length with Elinor the litany of wrongs her mother had perpetrated against her over the years, from the months, or years at a time abroad, to the awkward homecomings, which were over almost as soon as life felt normal again. She also discussed at length her father, who was around, but it always felt his presence and subsequent gifts were given purely out of guilt and not always out of genuine affection. Charlotte had no doubt her parents loved her, she knew in her heart they did, but as with any second child, she felt she was living in the shadow of her older, med student brother; the brother who despite dropping out initially, had gallantly returned to the family business, and was living up to his potential.

In turn, Elinor complained about her parents’ early divorce, her father’s alcoholism and infidelities, and her mother’s tendency to place work above all else. Each of their ‘bitch sessions’, as Elinor had dubbed them, were usually accompanied by large amounts of alcohol, which almost always lead them to say things in the heat of the moment that they would regret if their parents ever heard them.

On this particular night the two of them were at a bar with a few of their friends, the bar was one they wouldn’t normally frequent, but their usual haunt was becoming more and more popular requiring them to wait longer between drinks and that simply wasn’t for them. The two women were happily chatting away with the rest of the group until Charlotte quickly ducked her head behind a menu.

“Oh my god,” the group were startled by her outburst and looked around the bar.

“What?”

“My mum’s over there. What the hell’s she doing in a bar?” Elinor looked around in search of her friend’s mother.

“Which one is she?”

“The blonde, the oldest one there,” looking around again Elinor’s eyes widened when she located the woman.

“Holy shit.”

“What?”

“She’s beautiful.”

“Elinor,” Charlotte hit her friend on the arm as she saw another older woman approaching her mother.

“What? She is, now I know where you get your looks from,” Elinor joked as she grabbed Charlotte’s face to support her declaration, but let go quickly when she turned around again, “Oh, fuck.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“See the woman with your mum, that’s my mum. I’ve been avoiding her calls all week. Shit, I hope she hasn’t seen me.”

“It can’t be as bad as me, I haven’t seen her in months, the most I did was send her a text when my brother told me she was leaving the country again, and even then I was less than understanding.” 

“Don’t worry they probably won’t see us, there’s too many people between us. That’s so weird that they know each other and are here the same night as us. Oh well, I guess they can commiserate about their shitty daughters together,” Elinor laughed as she took another sip of her drink. She tried to re-join their group’s conversation before noticing Charlotte’s silence and saw the strange look on her face followed the finger Charlotte was pointing in their direction.

Turning around Elinor saw it immediately, her mum’s arm wrapped around Charlotte’s mum’s waist, and her head resting in her shoulder. She could pass that off as nothing until the two women walked to the other side of the room, slid into a booth, sitting almost on top of each other and their hands clasped together on the table.

“What the fuck?” Elinor almost yelled, but thought better about potentially alerting the women to their presence. Turning towards Charlotte she saw her friend frantically swiping at her phone before bringing it to her ear. She watched her friend’s face change from a thousand different emotions before the person picked up on the other end.

“What the hell, Cameron?”

“Hello Charlotte, how are you? I’m good, thanks. What can I do for you?”

“I’m not in the mood Cam. Why didn’t you tell me mum has a new girlfriend?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“I meant it when I said I’m not in the mood. I know you’re working with Mum now, so I’ll ask again, why didn’t you tell me she has a new girlfriend?”

“Because _technically_ she doesn’t, and why do you care? You haven’t seen or spoken to her for ages.”

“That’s beside the point, I thought it went without saying that you should tell me these things.”

“Fine, fine, sorry I didn’t tell you, but how do you know anyway?”

“Because my dear brother, she’s randomly shown up at the bar we’re at, where I happen to be with my friend, who also happens to be her girlfriend’s daughter. Also sidenote, since when does Mum go out and socialise with people, I assume they work together since Mum is a glorified hermit.”

“Your friend’s with Elinor? Get out of here, what a small world.”

“CAM,”

“Fine. Yes they work together, they’ve been properly together for about a month and it’s ‘secret’, although the whole damn hospital knows anyway. Does that satisfy you? Because unlike all you party animals, I have to go back to work.”

“Okay, go, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye, also just keep an open mind alright, Mum’s really happy, okay, she doesn’t need your crap.” Cameron hung up on his sister before she could argue, leaving Charlotte slightly pissed at the insinuation. Looking up at Elinor’s quizzical look Charlotte relayed the information her brother had given her.

“That’s so random, no wonder Mum has been particularly evasive when I’ve asked her about her love life. Hey, at least, when the time comes for ‘family’ introductions it won’t be quite as awkward.” Elinor joked as she slyly looked over her shoulder to look at her Mum and her Mum’s girlfriend. _Boy, that’s weird to say_ , Elinor thought. The longer she watched them though, she noticed the completely content, relaxed look on her Mum’s face and realised she had never quite seen that look on her face before. 

“Besides, they look really happy though, don’t they?”

Charlotte lifted her head in their direction and she heard her Mum laugh, her real laugh, not the awkward chuckle she was used to, and as her mother tucked her hair behind her ear, she saw the smile that was usually reserved for Cameron and herself.

“Yeah, they really do.”


End file.
